I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 215 - 215 214. Metamorphosis_1

Chapter 215: 214. [Metamorphosis]_1 Chapter 215: 214. [Metamorphosis]_1 Having seen off Feng Yu, Lu Ban returned home to find the living room already tidied up.

The kitchen was spotless, everything gleaming anew.

The most troublesome step of cooking had been taken care of, and Lu Ban was somewhat tempted to start cooking more often.

But after giving it some thought, he decided against it, having tasted Feng Yu’s cooking, he found his instant noodles utterly flavorless by comparison.

Although once regarded as a food vlogger, Lu Ban actually only knew the old Lu family recipes, which were passable in flavor, mainly due to the quality of the ingredients.

He watched the countdown on the Spring Festival Gala and heard the faint counting down from the neighborhood, and as midnight struck, the New Year’s bells rang, filling the air with joy and harmony.

The song “Unforgettable Tonight” began to play, and Lu Ban’s phone vibrated several times with messages, all of which were New Year’s greetings.

What was rare was that the messages Lu Ban received were mostly not mass texts, and it was obvious that they had been typed by hand.

For instance, Qin Tiantian included a picture of her family’s New Year’s Eve dinner, which was different from the Jiangcheng flavors Lu Ban had today; hers was predominantly spicy, with even stir-fried cabbage laced with pickled peppers, looking quite fiery — maybe that’s the secret to her good skin!

Feng Yu sent a message to say she’s arrived home safely, with a simple wish for the New Year. Lu Ban, however, was quite skeptical that there could be anything preventing her from getting home safely.

As for Song Yunyan, Li Zijian, and others, they also sent brief messages.

To Lu Ban’s surprise, even the police officers He Youwu and Chen Danshen sent messages.

Unmoving: Hard work pays off!

He replied with a message of his own, knowing that the officers also had a tough job during the festivities, possibly being on duty.

He shouldn’t cause them any trouble.

Within fifteen minutes, Lu Ban had responded to all the messages.

He didn’t have many friends, nor did he have family.

Being able to have the New Year’s Eve dinner with Feng Yu was already atmospheric enough to feel like celebrating the holiday.

The night passed without incident, and when Lu Ban got up the next morning, he glanced at the System.

[Fellow Walker Count: 2/1]

[Task Starting Conditions are met]

[Do You Wish to Start the Task?]

[Fellow Walkers will enter the Silent Lands upon confirmation of participation]

“All gathered in one night?”

If it’s two, it must be that both Cui Siter and Shia have agreed.

Lu Ban felt touched.

After all, they didn’t even know what the task was, and yet both had accepted his invitation; it seems there really is true camaraderie in the Silent Lands.

“Let’s take a look at the task.”

A worn book appeared on the desk in front of Lu Ban; it wasn’t very thick, resembling a novel one might buy in a bookstore.

The book was both illusionary and real, and seemed out of place with the surrounding environment.

“Hmm?”

Lu Ban felt something was off—there should only be one book.

Normally, there should be three options for him to choose from.

Could it be that different tasks lie within the pages of the opened book?

He glanced at the cover of the book, which portrayed a man engulfed in madness. The loss of sanity had altered his appearance, his face contorted, his body in motions that were not human. It seemed he was muttering something, and Lu Ban could almost hear the whisper of the Evil God; just looking at the cover for a few moments would make his head throb and his heart race with dizziness.

Lu Ban turned the pages of the book, where the cold, indifferent text of the System appeared, as if hastily scrawled by a steel pen.

The Lunatic’s Whisper

All that is real is illusion, all that is delusion is reality.

The social elite of the Abandoned Capital can hardly do without their endless parties, the sweet taste of grape juice, and the tales of romantic adventures.

A famous novelist has gone missing along with the manuscript of their new book—a madly sublime masterpiece that ensnares all who see it into an enduring chapter of obsession, yet the ending remains unknown.

You accept the task to investigate the case, yet a series of bizarre atmospheres hint to you; this is no ordinary disappearance.

[Task Difficulty: Self-select]

[Task Requirement: Find the missing novelist]

[Task Requirement: Witness the story’s ending]

[“Masterpiece, a perfect masterpiece, there is no doubt, this will change the world!”]

Lu Ban turned the page back, but saw no other task options.

In a daze, the text in the book page changed again.

[Detected a side mission item, task has been changed]

[Task Difficulty: Mutation]

[Task Requirement: Find the missing novelist]

[Task Requirement: Witness the story’s ending]

[Task Requirement: Find Du Danping’s Melody Shard]

“Is it a place Du Danping visited?”

In his astonishment, Lu Ban also confirmed a few things.

“Is it in the Abandoned Capital, which is Cui Siter’s own Foreign Domain?”

“Mutation difficulty, and it’s in the Abandoned Capital, wonder what I’ll encounter?”

“But it seems to be in the city of the Abandoned Capital, should not be attacked by monsters?”

“Finding a person, Shia should be able to locate them directly with scouting magic, right?”

However, the sudden change to mutation difficulty made Lu Ban somewhat uneasy.

As for himself, any level of difficulty didn’t make much of a difference, just go all out and it’s done.

But this time he had teammates, and if Cui Siter and Shia couldn’t handle the task with mutation difficulty and something went wrong, then inviting them would cause Lu Ban some guilt.

“At this point, all I can do is to prepare as much as possible,” Lu Ban thought.

Since it was a high difficulty that he had never encountered before, he needed to first collect more information.

After all, after Essence Extraction of “Testament,” Lu Ban didn’t have many Silence Points left, his support was limited, and buying more items would not be as effective as having Cui Siter come up with a strategy or Shia cast a spell.

What Lu Ban could do was to make use of his advantage and trigger Madman’s Knowledge multiple times to get more information about the task.

According to Lu Ban’s experience, after confirming the task, Madman’s Knowledge would have a greater chance of drawing information related to the task, or the information of the corresponding Foreign Domain.

Having determined his approach, he immediately bought a Madman’s Knowledge at half price.

This time, what appeared in Lu Ban’s hand was a human skull, indistinguishable from the ones in medical textbooks.

The skull had a viscous feel to it, as if it was covered in a layer of grease, but when actually touched, it felt only smooth.

There was no flame burning inside the skull, nor was there any black mist; inside it was hollow, like a granary eaten clean by worms.

Lu Ban crushed the skull.

In an instant, countless murmurs echoed in his ears.

“…This is the best piece, this is the supreme masterpiece, believe me, if you’ve seen even one page of this manuscript, you wouldn’t dispute my viewpoint…”

“…He’s brilliant and charismatic, so why would he disappear? Could it be that he grew tired of the fame and wanted a quiet environment…”

“…He is not your father, you do not have such a father…”

“…I feel this manuscript may not have a perfect ending, do you understand the feeling of being tormented by inspiration to the point of madness and helplessness? I believe he felt the same, perhaps that is why he disappeared…”

“…Anyhow, I just want to confirm his manuscript, as long as we can secure this novel, then certainly it will, it will…”

“…It wasn’t me who wrote these stories, but these stories crawled into my head, they were already there, I just happened to pick up these words…”

Countless murmurs burned, tumbled, and exploded in Lu Ban’s mind.

The next moment, thick black blood flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, as if ants were squirming inside his body, his skin bulged and contracted, distorting and deforming him.

Thump—

Lu Ban fell to the ground, unconscious.